I would say I'm fairly certain someone has written about this before; and I know for a fact this has been complained about more times than are worth counting...but it's on my mind and now you're gonna hear about it.
The crux of my argument goes like this: "Don't be an asshole!" Sometimes, you go out, you're with your buddies or your little girlfriends or whatever and you're hungry. Maybe you've been drinking, or maybe you want to lay a nice base down before you get drunk...so you decide to grab a bite to eat. So far, I'm right there with you. But you lose me when you walk in the door five or ten minutes before the place is supposed to close.
Look at it this way: the cooks at the restaurant you've walked into at 10:55 have been there; and on their feet; since, probably, 2:30...and they're gonna be on their feet long after you've left (more on that in a moment). The servers and busboys and food-runners have all probably been there since, let's say 4:30. They're tired...everyone's tired. The cooks want to break down their stations*; a job that takes about a half hour to an hour, depending on the kitchen. The front of house wants to wipe down tables, count money, close out the bank, and divy up tips. Oh yeah, the dishwashers aren't totally psyched to still be pulling full racks, loaded with plates out the power washer either. So when you walk into a restaurant, five minutes before they're supposed to close (the hours are posted right on the front door, guy) what you're really telling the staff is, “hey, fuck you guys!” And when the staff feels like you're walking into the restaurant with your middle finger held high, what kind of service do you think you're going to get...? I'll wait...
Yeah, not the best service in the world.
Now sure, if a restaurant closes at 11 on a Tuesday, you should be able to get food until eleven o'clock at night. But if you hung out outside a restaurant every night for a week, I can almost guarantee you could count the number of people who went in there after 10:45 on both hands. It's like walking into Macy's right before they close and asking to be fitted for a new suit. Why would you make the person who’s been working there all day, who’s looking forward to going through their “I do this, this and this and then I can go home” checklist, rush through their job. I guess I’m trying to have you look at this logically. You’d run into a Starbucks right before they closed for a coffee, because maybe you want to be wired until 3 in the morning; you’d walk into a McDonald’s right before they close because the “hamburgers” are already cooked and dehydrating peacefully under a heat lamp, so it takes about a minute to get your food; and you’d walk into a bar (provided you’d even be let in) right before they close for one more beer, but that’s up to the bartender and he or she is going to tell you to “drink up and get the fuck out.” You’d do this because you’d know it’s not going to take too long and it won’t put the people working in a bind; so what tells these asshole diners, “I’m going to walk into a restaurant two minutes before they close and request a dish that takes fifteen minutes to prepare”…?
One quick side note: people who work in the industry should know better. If you work in the service industry and you still take it upon yourself to walk into another restaurant right before they close…or after they’re supposed to be closed and expect to get food and expect to get good service; you’re an asshole! Let’s leave it at that.
So, what I'm trying to say, with my little rant here, is don't be an asshole. Don't be that guy, or that group of guys who walks into a restaurant right before they close and try to get food.
nb: Breaking down a station entails: putting everything you had in a metal 1/9th hotel pan in a plastic quart container before it goes in the fridge; wrapping all perishable goods in plastic wrap and storing them in the fridge or a cool, dry place; changing out any containers with melted ice in them that are currently housing fish or seafood; thoroughly cleaning your workstation (ovens, reach-ins, &c.) with hot water and sanitizing solution; assessing your mise en place and writing a prep list for the morning/prep cook.
What’s on My Mind This Week?:
Still curious about Sam Sifton’s awarding of Stars like Merit Badges, but actually somewhat curious as to where I can find Champale in New York City…yeah, that’s right, I want to try Champale.
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